Step 4: Content – 7 Steps to Successful Social Media Marketing

Step 4. Content

We’ve reached the midway point in our 7 Steps to Successful Social Media Marketing blog series. If you need to catch up, follow the links to Step 1 Research, Step 2 Set Goals, and Step 3 Branding.

Companies should focus more on how to BE social, and less on how to DO social media.” -Jay Baer, author of Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help Not Hype

It’s Not About You

One solid point to remember in social media: it’s not always about you. As much as social media is a great tool in promoting your business, you shouldn’t use it to promote your business 24 hours a day. If all your content is self-promotion you’ll quickly discover the threshold for promoting too much, which could result in unfollows and blocks.

Social Media Rule of Thirds

Social media users are particularly wary of advertisements guised as content. Find a balance between self-promotion and appealing content to your audiences. There are no definitive rules about what content you should be posting and how frequently, but many businesses adopt a Social Media Rule of Thirds.

⅓ of your social content should surface and share ideas and stories from thought leaders in your industry or like-minded businesses. (Curated Content)

⅓ of your social content should be based on personal interactions and build your personal brand. (Engagement – covered in Step 5)

Original Content

For original content, revert back to your research and think about the kind of content you want to see as a user. Images are great for your content because it’s what initially draws in the viewer, so be sure to create vivid images to go along with your social media copy. Sharing personal candid photos at the office helps humanize your brand and puts a face on the business. Also, studies have also found that users are more likely to engage with content using numbers and tips in their headlines.

Hashtags & Trends

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, as well as other social networks, use hashtags to monitor trends and help users find content. Utilize hashtags in your content to help stay on trend, create new strings of content, and help increase visibility of your posts. Be careful though to avoid overtagging and limit your hashtags to 2 max.

Curated Content

Remember those influencers you identified in your research? Draw on those influencers to help curate one third of your content you share from other sources. Find and share stories that are on trend in your industry or even current events that your audience might enjoy. “Feel good” content is a great example of posts that aren’t all about your brand, but are typically received well by audiences. When retweeting or sharing other content, you can also include your own spin on the story to make it relevant to your brand and your audience.

Be Active 24/7

As far as frequency and timing of posts, remember social media is 24/7; be sure that your actively involved on your site outside of work hours. Posting throughout the day, in the morning, during lunch hours, and after work in the evening is key to receiving engagement with your audiences.

Scheduling Tools

One way to streamline your time is to take advantage of the different free social management tools available online, including Hootsuite, Buffer, and Postific. Using these tools allows you to plan out your social media calendar and schedule posts to your various social network accounts ahead of time.

Come back next week for Step 5 – Engagement – and we don’t mean the matrimonial kind.

Is your business having trouble finding the perfect social media marketing strategy? Creative Blend Design will help you define a strategic plan that makes sense for your business. Please call us at (844) 223-8326 or click here to use our contact form.